Antipodeans Stories

This is the summary



I hope all's well. It has been another busy week but I am much more relaxed.
The temples I got to see were very good and the children trying to sell you things very impressive. For $1 they could tell me the prime minister, capital and population of Australia.
I have had a couple of lunches at teachers' houses in the village. I enjoyed the morning glory, rice and fried duck eggs.
I have visited the silk farm and decided that silk should be at least $1000 per metre for the hand made silk.
The anniversary party at school was astounding. They had games and 8 huge speakers on the back of a truck blaring out music. The party food was soup and two baguette type rolls. The volunteers presented each child with these. It was a very moving experience to see the humble acceptance and thanks given for the food. Later the dancing started and we were literally dragged on to the dance floor (dusty volleyball court). The locals were not keen to let us go and we were given powder to rub on to absorb the sweat. The atmosphere was incredible.
I met up with a Khmer lady who is a friend of an Aussie friend. This was a real treat as I discovered clean air (air conditioning) and a real cup of coffee. She speaks good English and we spent a lovely time together.
Lunch was spent at Tonle Sap Lake and we picked up a new Aussie volunteer who will be at the same school.
We then went to the Sangheum Centre for Children to join in their Christmas party. It was a great afternoon of singing and dancing performances from the orphans there. Santa Claus (alias Tom) was a real hit.
I'm having a quiet morning and then off to the Cultural Village this afternoon.
I still haven't got used to riding in the traffic. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera at the ready when I was passed by a urinating pig lying on its back across a board on the back of a motorbike!!!